A method is described for determining glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in conscious unrestrained rats without extracellular volume expansion. The glomerular marker used was 14C-labeled inulin infused in the minimal fluid volume of 1 microliter/h by intraperitoneally implanted osmotic minipumps. The workability, reproducibility, and precision of the technique was evaluated in sham-operated (sham) and uninephrectomized (UNI-NX) rats for 6 days. In six sham-operated rats the clearance of [14C]-inulin calculated from the plasma value obtained in a blood sample taken at 10 A.M. before food consumption was (means +/- SE): day 1 after pump implantation: 1.38 +/- 0.05; day 2: 1.27 +/- 0.05; day 3: 1.46 +/- 0.16; day 4: 1.45 +/- 0.15; day 5: 1.33 +/- 0.08; day 6: 1.38 +/- 0.11 ml/min. In six UNI-NX rats the corresponding values were: day 1: 0.88 +/- 0.04; day 2: 0.79 +/- 0.05; day 3: 0.91 +/- 0.03; day 4: 0.91 +/- 0.03; day 5: 0.83 +/- 0.06; day 6: 0.87 +/- 0.05 ml/min. When determined on day 2, 3, or 6 at 6 P.M., i.e., at the end of the food consumption period, [14C]inulin clearance was increased in all animals compared with the value determined at 10 A.M. in the fasted state. The use of implanted osmotic minipumps for delivering a glomerular marker such as [14C]inulin allows the determination of GFR in conscious unrestrained rats with normal fluid balance conditions. This method appears to be particularly appropriate for studying the influence of the intake and composition of food on GFR in physiological conditions.